Recognised since antiquity, the constellation has a rich mythological tradition

The northern hemisphere’s spring evenings are dominated by the unmistakable outline of Leo, one of the few constellations that resembles the creature it represents, the lion.

Leo is most easily identified by its distinctive “backwards” question mark, referred to by astronomers as the “sickle” asterism and...

Prendwick, Northumberland: On a crisp, cold walk, I’m reminded that winter still clings on, and that familiar constellations are far from alone

The red sun rising over the radar station on Alnwick Moor picks out the tall shape of a hare at our end of the meadow. It lopes forward a little way – forever appearing, as hares always do, to be on the brink of a forward roll – and then pauses,...

Inaudible infrasound from old pipes and ventilation systems may affect how people feel, research indicates

For believers in the paranormal, unsettling sensations brought on by old buildings can be a sinister hint of loitering spirits. But new research points to a more mundane explanation: inaudible sounds from aged pipes and boilers.

Scientists investigated the impact of infrasound on a group...

Communications minister Solly Malatsi has promised “consequence management” for officials responsible.

Clients no longer just describe their symptoms, they arrive with screenshots of dense articles, AI chatbot information and the phrase ‘I’ve done my research’

The modern mind is a column where experts discuss mental health issues they are seeing in their work

Ben* sat across from me, explaining how his low motivation, lethargy and trouble sleeping seemed like depression from content he had seen...

Understanding truffles is a ‘tricky proposition’ because most of the magic occurs underground

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Black truffles aren’t native to Australia, but since the first oaks and hazelnuts were planted in the 1990s, the local industry has flourished, becoming the largest producer outside Europe.

Now, scientists have identified the environmental...

Section 189 protects against retrenchments in South Africa. But natural attrition needs no consultation, and AI is accelerating it.

Researchers find ‘alarming’ effect on fertility across global species from simultaneous exposures

Simultaneous exposure to toxic chemicals and climate change’s impacts likely generates an additive or synergistic effect that increases reproductive harm, and may contribute to the broad global drop in fertility, new peer-reviewed research finds.

The review of scientific literature considers how...

Capital spending at SpaceX more than doubled last year, exceeding revenue and raising fears of further raises.

Hallucinated citations have landed communications minister Solly Malatsi in a political storm, with his credibility on the line.

Soaring demand for AI inference workloads has seen Intel selling stockpiled CPUs once written off entirely.

Discrepancy in forecasts raises questions over government planning for net zero

One vision of the UK’s future involves a decarbonised economy powered by clean, renewable energy. Another involves making the UK an AI superpower.

The government departments responsible for these two visions do not appear to have agreed on their numbers.

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The rival superpowers are ramping up preparations for a crewed lunar landing nearly six decades after the first moon walk

The world watched earlier this month as Nasa sent four astronauts around the moon – but to actually land on the surface the US is once again in a space race, this time with China. And China may well win.

Both countries plan to build inhabited lunar bases – the first...

Early birds were like ‘T rex reincarnated’, says scientist who believes avian skulls offer insight into dinosaurs’ behaviour

T rex is often depicted as more brawn than brains, but now scientists are hoping to probe just what was going on inside its head, drawing on findings from another kind of dinosaur: birds.

Scientists have previously found some species of bird not only make and use tools,...

After nearly 60 years of marriage, Pam wanted to honour her husband Bill with a hologram at his funeral.

Study of 1,300 campaigners finds arrests, fines and jail terms increase determination of activists to take direct action

The criminalisation of direct action climate protests in the UK is counterproductive and increases the determination of activists to undertake disruptive demonstrations, according to a study of 1,300 campaigners.

New findings suggest arrests, fines and lengthy prison...

Progress has always been made by people who think differently. Neurodiversity helps us think outside the box – and when we do, the sky’s the limit

One of my favourite pieces of scientific equipment is something called a retrospectroscope. I admit that it only exists in my imagination, but it has turned out to be a very useful bit of kit. It allows me to look back through the years of my life...